To enable an appropriate and quick detection of a change in an internal structure of a patient, a computer program causes a computer to detect a change in an internal structure of a patient. The process includes calculating a second water equivalent thickness obtained from a second three-dimensional image being a three-dimensional image of a patient, which is newly obtained; a process of calculating a change of a first water equivalent thickness from the second water equivalent thickness, the first water equivalent thickness being obtained from a first three-dimensional image being a three-dimensional image of the patient in treatment planning; and a process of calculating a dose volume histogram change for calculating a change in a dose volume histogram from the treatment plan, based on the calculated water equivalent thickness change and correlation information indicating a correlation between a water equivalent thickness change value and dose distribution information.

A radiotherapy dose rate monitor system includes an electrode configured to be impinged by radiotherapy radiation, and a current measurement circuit configured to measure a current through the electrode. An emission of secondary electrons emitted from the electrode provides a majority of current through the electrode.

Parameterized model reconstruction is used for internal dose tomography. The parameterized model, solved for within the reconstruction, models the dose level and may account for diffusion, isotope half-life, and/or biological half-life. Using the detected emissions from different scans (e.g., from different scan sessions in a given cycle) as input for the one reconstruction, the parameterized model reconstruction determines the biodistribution of dose at any time.

A correlation between a CT value and a water equivalent thickness ratio distribution for each patient can be corrected without increasing a treatment time, and more accurate treatment can be realized. A treatment planning system 112 which generates a treatment plan for irradiating an irradiation target with a particle beam calculates a correction amount of a water equivalent thickness ratio of a first treatment plan created in advance, calculates a water equivalent thickness ratio distribution based on the correction amount and the first treatment plan, and creates a second treatment plan from the water equivalent thickness distribution.

A dual double balloon catheter includes a catheter having a proximal end portion, a central portion and a distal end portion, and a secondary treatment balloon for a catheter. The catheter includes a plurality of lumens within the catheter extending from the proximal end portion, a plurality of inflatable balloons positioned in the central portion and a secondary treatment balloon communicatively associated with the distal end portion of the catheter, and the balloons and the secondary treatment balloon being communicatively connected with a corresponding one of the plurality of lumens to selectively inflate/deflate the corresponding inflatable balloon or to receive a radioactive dose or a therapeutic agent for a treatment.

A dosimetric evaluation tool and method is used to determine how well the prescription isodose volume (PIV) conform to the size and shape both the tumor volume (TV) and the healthy tissue in radiotherapy treatment plans. The innovative, ideal, and universal dosimetric evaluation tools are Conformity Index (CI) and Unconformity Indexes (UCI.sub.underdose and UCI.sub.overdose). CI measures the conformity of the radiotherapy planning, and UCI.sub.underdose and UCI.sub.overdose measure the unconformity of the radiotherapy planning. In other words, UCI.sub.underdose and UCI.sub.overdose reflect the negative effect of dose distribution in planning, and CI reflects the positive effect of dose distribution.

The invention relates to a solution for determining events related to photons and charged particles useful in therapies that use methodologies related to hadron therapy. In one aspect of the invention, it relates to a device having a sandwich-type structure of photon-detecting panels (1) and charged particle-detecting panels (2), which can be suitably associated with respective sensors. Also included is a method for detecting photons and charged particles that uses the aforementioned device. Lastly, a specific use of the object of the invention in hadron therapy is described.

Fractionation optimization receives inputs including a radiation dose distribution to be delivered by fractionated radiation therapy, maximum and minimum number of fractions, and Biologically Effective Dose (BED) constraints for one or more organs-at-risk. A two-dimensional (2D) graph is displayed of a parameter X equal to or proportional to (I) versus a parameter Y equal to or proportional to (II) where N is the number of fractions, D is a total radiation dose to be delivered by the fractionated radiation therapy, and d.sub.t is the fractional dose in fraction t. A constraint BED lines are displayed on the 2D graph depicting each BED constraint. A marker is displayed at a location on the 2D graph defined by a current fractionation and a current total dose. A new value for the current fractionation and/or the current total dose is received, and the marker is updated accordingly. Alternatively a second marker is displayed showing the new fractionation scheme along with its comparative advantages and disadvantages with respect to the current fractionation.

This invention provides a method applied for the new dynamic arc radiotherapy treatment planning to calculate an optimal arc angle. With this invention, an operator without rich experience is able to reach the expected low dose in lungs easily and quickly. This invention can not only estimate the distribution of low radiation dose in lungs but also reduce the shortcomings like consumption of time and inaccuracy caused by manual trial and error.

An object of the present invention is to increase sensitivity and position resolution of measurement of an arrival position of a charged particle beam irradiated during treatment. A beam monitoring system includes: a gamma ray detector that detects gamma rays generated by interaction between a charged particle beam and an irradiation target; a shield that is disposed between the gamma ray detector and an irradiation axis of the beam and has a plurality of slits; and a calculation unit that analyzes a detection result of the gamma ray detector and reconfigures a count distribution of the detected gamma rays into a distribution of the beam irradiation axis based on a geometric arrangement of the shield, the detector, and the irradiation axis of the beam. The calculation unit obtains the arrival position of the particle beam from the reconfigured distribution.